When YouTube Red launched in the US in 2015 I was extremely jealous. The promise of ad-free YouTube was one I'd dreamed of. Unsurprising considering I probably watch 2-3+ hours of YouTube a day (don't @ me).

Though YouTube obviously thought of Red as much more than just a way to

When YouTube Red launched in the US in 2015 I was extremely jealous. The promise of ad-free YouTube was one I'd dreamed of. Unsurprising considering I probably watch 2-3+ hours of YouTube a day (don't @ me).

Though YouTube obviously thought of Red as much more than just a way to remove ads. They've invested heavily into their Originals starring creators Pewdiepie and Logan Paul (🙄) and also tacked on Google's answer to Spotify — Play Music.

Fast-forward to 2018 and YouTube Red has undergone a rebrand taking on the "YouTube Premium" moniker and Google Play Music slowly transforming into YouTube Music. When it launched in the UK I instantly subscribed (to their generous 3 month trial) at £11.99 a month. While I haven't checked out Originals I did dive into YouTube Music, but is it a legitimate Spotify or Apple Music alternative?

First impressions are great on both iOS and the web. YouTube Music sports a handsome, dark interface that feels familiar and easy to use. Heavy use of space and YouTube's beautiful YT Sans font make it feel less cluttered that Spotify or Apple Music, even if a little information density is lost in the process.

Curiously, Google decided to continue their trend of only creating web apps and a desktop app featuring media controls is completely missing. I know Spotify is just a web app running on Chromium but it feels like YouTube's strategy here is wrong. Users are used to media players being separate apps and not just a tab in their browser. Media key support is an essential for me and makes it a more natural, native feeling experience.

Scratching Below the Surface

A pretty UI isn't everything though. If it's just masking a crap player and streaming experience then it's it's all just a façade. Thankfully that isn't the case here and for the most part YouTube Music is a great alternative to Spotify or Apple Music.

The library is pretty extensive and the majority of artists I listen to were available though I did struggle to find some smaller musicians such as The Midnight (though some tracks do now seem to be available). I think most bases are covered though and presumably the library will only grow over time. Curiously, the track Go Go by Alphabeat is the same incorrect track on both YouTube Music and Spotify so it seems that music is coming from the same place for both services.

As the core powering YouTube Music is well… YouTube you do actually get some videos for missing artists. I actually think this could be YouTube Music's "special sauce". They've got the biggest library of music videos, live performances, and bootlegs of any streaming service. What's great is that these can be treated either as videos or just played as audio. You can chuck these into a playlist, add them to a queue and you wouldn't be able to distinguish it from a standard audio track. I have a whole playlist of Dead & Company live performances that I can now stream in the background on my phone.

From what I can tell, all of the music tracks are also available on YouTube as videos. This means that if you want to share a track with a friend you don't have to worry if they have Spotify or Apple Music because it just opens up in a browser and they can play the track.

Early Access?

In places though, YouTube Music does feel like it's missing some core features that could make it great — features Spotify and Apple Music already have. Basic things like gapless playback, volume normalisation and an EQ aren't here. These are things we've had in media players since WinAmp and I'm surprised to see them omitted.

I'd also like to see things like collaborative playlists added here. We use these extensively in the office to have a large pool of tracks everyone likes to shuffle through. They're also a great way of sharing and discovering new music with friends and I hope they make their way to YouTube Music.

Unlike Spotify, there's no quality setting available and you just get what you're given. I don't think most people will care about this but having that finer control is nice and allows you to choose to sacrifce a little audio quality for lower data consumption.

When I first signed up to YouTube Music there was a little "Early Access" label in the top right of the window. I could accept these missing features if it were actually Early Access but that label is now gone and I'm still paying full price for the service.

As mentioned, YouTube Music clearly runs on-top of the main YouTube service. For example, you can "Subscribe" to artists just like you can channels on YouTube. Because of this I have noticed a few weird quirks that I think are worth mentioning. The majority of these only now occur on the TV app which leads me to think that it may be because there's no YouTube Music app for TV currently. Some things I've noticed:

Shared search and playback history.

Music recommendations appearing on YouTube.

Music subscriptions showing up in my subscription feed.

None of this is really a deal breaker and I'm sure it'll be cleared up over time, I was just surprised it wasn't totally separate.

What is a deal breaker for me is YouTube Music not being available via Alexa. It unfortunately means I can't fully switch from Spotify as I like shouting at my can in the kitchen to get it to play music for me. If you're a Google Home user though, you're obviously covered here and there's apparently a nice hand-off from the mobile apps to the speaker (kind of like Spotify Connect).

It might seem that I'm being overly negative here, but I really do like YouTube Music despite all my moaning. In terms of value I think they nailed the price-point here. £11.99 a month is only £2 more than Spotify's offering but you get YouTube Originals and ad-free YouTube as a bonus. If your whole household is interested in YouTube Premium you can upgrade to a family plan for £17.99 for you and 5 others to use.

If you're looking for a new music service and ad-free YouTube appeals to you then you could do worse than YouTube Music, and with that 3 month trial you have little to lose. For me, YouTube Music will be used occasionally for those live performances and maybe a little bit of discovery. Spotify will remain my primary service for as long as Alexa isn't supported by YouTube.

]]>

A few years ago I "cut the cord", cancelled my TV License and cable subscription. Back then I used a 3rd generation Apple TV with subscriptions to Netflix and Now TV alongside my vast number of YouTube subscriptions.

A few years ago I "cut the cord", cancelled my TV License and cable subscription. Back then I used a 3rd generation Apple TV with subscriptions to Netflix and Now TV alongside my vast number of YouTube subscriptions.

I've since tried what feels like every box or stick that displays web content on your TV. All have their own interfaces, experiences, content options, and trade offs. Which box works for you will depend on your requirements.

My Requirements

While your requirements will undoubtedly differ I think it's important to understand what requirements I'm testing these boxes and sticks against.

I'm using a dumb, 1080p, SDR TV so 4K or HDR isn't important for me.

Ideally I want a device that includes a remote.

I like the option of being able to send media from my phone to the TV and I use an iPhone.

The interface needs to be clean and easy to use (I'm a little bit of a UI snob).

Quiet. There's a reason I don't use a game console as a TV box because they traditionally have fans that are audiable when watching films.

Voice search would be a nice to have.

I also have a couple of content requirements:

YouTube - Probably my #1 source of video. It needs to be a good YouTube experience that supports 1080p 60fps.

Netflix

Amazon Prime

Spotify

UK channels (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5)

Testing

By looking at each option individually and breaking it down into distinct sections it's easier to get a grasp on what the pros and cons of the devices are. Those sections are:

Hardware

Software

Content

Value for Money

Apple TV 4

The Apple TV 4 (and 4K) offers the promise of iOS on the big screen in the form of tvOS. The standard version comes in at £149 with the 4K version starting at £179 and maxing out at £199.

What's In the Box

Apple TV

Power cord

Siri Remote

Lightning Cable

Interestingly, no HDMI cable is included. This is less of an issue for the standard model (Poundland do great HDMI cables) but the 4K model requires an HDMI 2.0 cable. Apple specifically recommend one with the "Dolby Vision" mark on the box such as the £29.95 Belkin cable.

Hardware

The Apple TV 4 has the same footprint as the previous generation but is slightly taller.

On the back is a standard IEC C7 (figure 8), HDMI, Ethernet, and USB-C ports (the USB-C is for developers only and is not on the 4K model). Curiously Apple decided to remove the optical audio out that was present on all previous models of the Apple TV.

Inside the Apple TV is Apple's custom A8 dual-core chip that was previously used in the iPhone 6 as well as 2GB of RAM. This combination makes it easily the most powerful box on this list and it has no problem running apps or games.

This generation also saw a big redesign of the remote. Gone is the ring of buttons reminiscent of old iPods, replaced instead with a trackpad. Some new buttons were also added: A "Home" button in addition to the already present "Menu" button, volume buttons that use HDMI-CEC or IR to control your TV's audio, and a microphone button to activate Siri.

In addition to the redesign the remote also switched from IR to Bluetooth, added a rechargeable battery, and a gyro for basic motion games

At first glance making the remote more versatile by removing buttons might seem like a smart change. This was Apple's M.O. with the iPhone after all and it worked well. Unfortunately it seems like buttons just work a hell of a lot better when controlling an interface from a distance.

I could live with the trackpad just fine and I'm sure there are plenty who prefer it. I also like the change to a rechargeable battery that lasts for 6 months at a time. My biggest irk with the remote is its shape and annoying symmetry which means that you'll pick it up the wrong way all the time. And because of that trackpad it means you'll be accidentally swiping around the UI or skipping the video you're watching.

Software

Driving the Apple TV is tvOS, a modified version of iOS for the big screen.

Apps and games can be downloaded from the App Store to populate the home screen. At the top of the grid is a sort of "dock" where you can pin your most used apps. These apps can then populate the "Top Shelf" to show recommended movies or tv shows. It's a familiar layout from both iOS and old generations of the Apple TV.

Confusingly Apple recently introduced their "TV app" that aims to integrate all of your content into one single place. It shows recommendations, an "Up Next" queue, and a universal search. When opening a video from the TV app the function of the Home button to take you back to the TV app instead of the home screen, essentially removing the need for the home screen entirely.

Changing the function of that home button feels messy. The user has to remember where it's going to take them, whether that's the home screen or the TV app. It feels like the home screen should be rethought as a hybrid of apps and content that would make the experience much more cohesive.

Siri is also included in tvOS and provides global voice search of iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon Prime in the UK. YouTube can also be searched if the app is installed but results are displayed in that app rather than in the slide up panel throughout the OS.

I really do like Siri on the Apple TV. It's fast and responsive, and being able to search things like "Comedies on Netflix" or "Films starring Tom Hanks" is delightful. Some other basic things like weather and HomeKit commands can be barked at it but otherwise it's pretty restricted and there's no voice feedback whatsoever.

Interestingly when I do the same "Tom Hanks Films on Netflix" search on Android TV it finds significantly more movies.

There are a few things I dislike about tvOS. The annoying sound it makes when moving around the UI, the non-qwerty keyboard, and the uninspiring UI with little personality. Overall though it's a fine OS that most will find easy to navigate.

Content

The place where the Apple TV really falls down for me is content. While the last week has given us ITV Hub, Demand 5, and Amazon Prime it's still missing Channel 4 and Spotify.

Netflix is on the Apple TV and is available for searching via Siri but is not present in the TV app. Prime Video on the other hand is an absolutely awful app written in Lua but is available in the TV app. Developers aren't themselves able to tap into the TV app or Siri search but are instead selected by Apple who presumably negotiate them into a corner. It all feels confusing and messy and not the smooth experience Apple presumably planned.

YouTube which is a massive requirement for me is also terrible on the Apple TV. It's lacking in even the most basic of things like 60fps or 4K video support (let alone HDR), and these things will never be supported until Apple implements VP9 codec on their OS. Unlike YouTube on other platforms there's also no autoplay of the next video, recommendations, cards at the end, subtitles, liking/disliking, or flagging.

Thankfully the Apple TV does support AirPlay — Apple's protocol for displaying content from an iPhone or iPad on the TV. This gets things like Channel 4 or Spotify on your TV. I don't think AirPlay is as good as Google Cast but it does get the job done (just don’t navigate around your phone while something is playing or you may end up showing something unexpected on the TV instead).

Value for Money

If you're solely in Apple's ecosystem, have a load of iTunes TV shows and movies, don't have a need for any of the missing content, and don't use YouTube, then maybe the Apple TV is for you. That being said, it's hard for me to recommend the Apple TV to most people.

The price Apple is charging for these things is insane. £149 is too much but £199 is just madness. On top of that, chuck in the Belkin cable and you're rapidly approaching half the price of a new 4K HDR TV with Android TV built in.

I think most people looking at these boxes have dumb TVs or have a "smart" TV with crap, slow, proprietary apps. Convincing someone to spend £229 on top is a big ask.

Best For: iTunes, Apple Music and Netflix

Pros

Cons

Great for iTunes content

Expensive

Easy to setup

Lacking Spotify and other services

Widely available

Bad remote

Terrible YouTube and Amazon experiences

No HDMI cable included

Fire TV

The Amazon Fire TV comes as either an HD Stick or a 4K "Pendant" (I'm not kidding, that's what Amazon call it). The stick is £39.99 and the pendant is £69.99.

I'll be looking at the Fire TV Stick but apart from the 4K HDR support everything between the devices is the same.

What's In the Box

Fire TV Stick

HDMI Extender

Power Adaptor

Micro USB cable

Alexa Voice Remote

2x AAA Batteries

Hardware

The Fire TV Stick looks like a large elongated USB stick. It's got an HDMI on one end and a Micro USB port on the side. Should you require or want Ethernet support then an adaptor can be purchased.

Inside the stick is a dual-core ARM CPU and 1GB of RAM. Unlike older Fire TV sticks this actually means the device gets a solid 60fps throughout the UI and doesn't feel like wading through honey.

The remote is crammed full of buttons. Below the 4-way directional pad are back, home, menu, rewind, play/pause, and fast forward buttons. Up top is a microphone button that can be used to talk to Alexa.

Its shape feels really great in the hand and you're unlikely to pick it up the wrong way because of it. Rather than using Bluetooth the Fire TV remote uses WiFi-Direct to connect to the stick which Amazon claims provides a better connection and increased battery life. I used the stick every day for 6 months and didn't wear out the two AAAs it requires.

Software

I think the Fire TV's software gets a bad rap because v1.0 was utterly awful. The new redesign that launched in 2017 is a vast improvement and proves to be a little more interesting than something like the Apple TV's home screen.

Apps do still play a part in the Fire TV's interface but are just a single row on the home screen rather than the whole event. Instead Amazon split content into tabs: Home, TV, Movies, Apps.

Here is where I'd like to show some screenshots of the Fire TV Stick but unfortunately it's HDCP'd up to the eyeballs and my capture card was having none of it. If you want to see the UI in action watch this great YouTube video

Home displays a mix of apps, TV shows, and Movies. Much to my surprise it doesn't just show Amazon Prime content but also things from Netflix. Amazon content isn't even tucked behind an app at all. The OS is the place to find shows and movies. It feels really nice and if Netflix and Prime are your main sources of media then you may not be jumping in and out of apps at all.

There are a couple of irks I have with the home screen though. I really don't like the top row of apps that show the most recently used first. I constantly end up in the wrong app because it's slow to update and I've clicked something just as it changes. That can be ignored though as directly below it is a list of apps that can be arranged by you. You can even hold the menu button to jump to a full list of apps or shut down the Fire TV.

However the main problem I have is Amazon opting to show ads here. It used to be less intrusive as the ad appeared right at the top of the screen and could be scrolled away but they recently chose to put it half way down the screen meaning it's always in view. These are usually ads for their shows like The Grand Tour but sometimes you get one for Papa Johns trying to get you to buy a pizza and a sodie pop. Considering you're paying not only for the device but likely also a Prime subscription it does feel a little poor to show ads as well.

One massive selling point of the Fire TV is Alexa. Unlike Siri on the Apple TV, this is the full-fat Alexa. She can play video from Prime or Netflix, play music on Spotify, radio on Tune In, or control the lights in your house. On top of that you get voice response too which is a nice bonus.

In the US you can even hook up an Echo to control your Fire TV. Shouting things like "Alexa, play American Gods on Fire TV" will start displaying the requested title. A very nice touch.

Content

Content is where Fire TV is king. It features absolutely everything I want: Netflix, Amazon Prime, all UK channels, Spotify, YouTube etc. etc.

All apps are web apps but still feel pretty snappy and responsive. Netflix and YouTube are both great experiences. YouTube is just a wrapper for their on TV interface it's totally up-to-date with the latest features like 4K video, cards at the end of videos, and liking/disliking.

Spotify is fully featured and when installed acts as a Spotify Connect device meaning you can use your phone or computer as a controller and cast content to the TV.

There's also limited support in apps for casting to the TV using Amazon's Fling. It's clearly a reaction to Google Cast and works in apps like YouTube or Netflix.

The problem for me came recently when I got a notice on my TV informing me that YouTube support would be cut off on the 1st January 2018.

Google and Amazon are having an argument and that means consumers face issues like this. It's a really crap situation and means the Fire TV is no longer a viable option for me.

Value for Money

If YouTube doesn't matter for you then the Fire TV Stick is incredible value for money at £39.99. It provides instant access to almost everything you could possibly want, is easy to navigate around, and with Alexa built in you get a great voice assistant too.

I got mine for £24.99 in the Prime Day sale and it's often on offer so keep an eye out for a deal if you're interested in one. If 4K HDR is important then you can always grab its big brother for £69.99.

Xiaomi Mi Box (Android TV)

Not one to be outdone by Apple, Google launched Android TV; their third attempt to take over the living room in recent memory. It can be found in a number of TVs from Sony and Philips but there's also a couple of boxes you can buy such as the Nvidia Shield or the Xiaomi Mi Box.

I opted for the Mi Box as it was over £100 cheaper to purchase in the UK at £69 and the game features of the Shield weren't something I was interested in. It's not something that's for sale in the UK normally so I had to buy an imported version from a place called The Solution Shop. US folk can pick one up from Walmart for $69.

If you're looking to buy one make sure you get an international version running Android TV as the variants for the Chinese market run Xiaomi's own interface.

What's in the Box

Mi Box

Remote

Power adaptor (barrel plug style)

HDMI 2.0a cable

No AAA batteries were provided for the remote.

Hardware

The Mi Box is a lovely little thing. It reminds me of a smooth pebble and sits discreetly under a TV with just a small light on the front to indicate that it's powered on.

On the back are power, HDMI, USB, and audio out ports. The USB port can be used to read data from a hard drive or thumb drive to play video or side-load other apps onto the device.

The remote is very similar to the Fire TV remote and has a similar shape and feel in the hand. Up top is a power button that can sleep/wake the unit. Below that is a familiar circular d-pad, back, home, and microphone buttons.

The lack of media controls that are present on other remotes does force you to click twice to pause a video but that's a minor annoyance and another Bluetooth remote can be paired if that's a deal breaker for you.

It does have volume controls but they don’t use HDMI-CEC or IR to control your TV volume but instead controls a secondary volume level on Android. It works fine for me but the Apple TV’s functionality is definitely a little nicer.

Software

Android TV is an absolute delight to use. It's easily my favourite interface of those I've tried. The UI is handsome that feels easy to use and totally natural.

Apps are again the core of Android TV and have the ability to fill in a unified recommendations carousel at the top. YouTube usually fills it with awful trending videos but Spotify and Google Play have put some useful stuff in there.

Below that is an apps carousel that can either be arranged by you or placed in order of recently used on the left. As you install more and more apps this eventually turns into a multi-line carousel.

Android O brings channels that give each app their own carousel of content but as it’s not yet available on the Mi Box I'm unable to really comment other than telling you I really like the idea. It feels like what Amazon have tried to do with Fire OS but isn't split across screens and give every app equal footing.

Apps themselves are downloaded from the Google Play Store. Not everything from the Play Store on your phone is here as not everything has a TV interface. Apps that aren't present can actually be side-loaded via that USB port on the back which made me feel a sense of freedom I didn't get on any of the other boxes.

Animations throughout the OS like the circular masks that reveal an app when it's opened to the animation that shows when you're using voice search are wonderful. It gives it a level of personality and whimsy that's missing from the other platforms.

Talking of voice search, Android TV's is second to none. Every app can interface with the voice search through an API so holding down the button and searching for "Stranger Things" shows where you can watch it, information about the show such as cast, videos about it on YouTube, and music in Spotify.

Pressing the microphone button once in an app will bring up that app's search but pressing and holding will launch the global, universal search. Like Alexa and Siri, that search can also perform other actions like telling you about the weather or giving you sports scores and does so with the standard Google voice response.

The only minor issue I have with the OS is that some apps close as soon as you click back to the home screen unless playing a video which can cause you to use your place when scrolling.

Content

While Android TV doesn't fulfil all my content needs like the Fire TV once did, it still gets pretty close. Directly from the Play Store I was able to download Netflix, ITV Hub, and Spotify (which acts like Spotify Connect the same as Fire TV).

Prime and iPlayer are for some reason only available on the Nvidia Shield or Bravia TVs in the UK but I was able to side-load the APK for Prime very easily (though the app is the same terrible one from the Apple TV). I did find an APK for Channel 4 but that didn't work so I've resigned to Casting it from my phone.

And yes, Google Cast is built right in. It works exactly the same as Chromecast, supports 4K and HDR, and all for the same price as the Chromecast Ultra.

As a bonus you can connect a Google Home to control your Android TV like you can with an Echo and Fire TV. I haven't had a chance to test this but you can request it to play content from YouTube, Netflix and other services as well as request it to pause or skip.

YouTube is absolutely fantastic on the Mi Box. Well, it was before they "updated" the YouTube app to the same web version used on the Fire TV. That version is still great and has everything you would expect but it doesn't quite feel native to the platform.

Thankfully Android lets you uninstall updates to system apps so I reverted back to the previous version that feels much more fluid. It doesn't feature end of video cards or support HDR videos like the updated version but it's otherwise a superior experience.

Value for Money

The Mi Box feels like incredible value for money if you're happy to deal with importing and a little side-loading due to international restrictions. At £69 it's the same price as the Fire TV 4K and over £100 cheaper than the Apple TV while providing the same 4K HDR video on Netflix and YouTube.

It provides the very best YouTube experience on your TV, has a Chromecast built in, and has the best voice search I've tried.

Chromecast

The Chromecast is the oddball on this list which is why I've left it until last. It doesn't come with a remote or much of an interface at all and requires a mobile device to send content to your TV.

Like the Fire TV 4K it's a little pendant that dangles from the back of your TV. The standard model offers 1080p playback and is £30 whereas the 4K HDR Chromecast Ultra is £69.

What's in the Box

Chromecast

Power adaptor

Micro USB cable

Hardware

The new Chromecast is a small round disc that dangles from the back of your TV. My model is the older variant that looks more like a USB stick. It's powered by a micro USB cable in the same way as the Fire Stick which is far nicer than a proprietary power connector.

There's no remote with the Chromecast as everything is sent to the TV from a phone, tablet, or Chrome tab on a computer. Connection is via WiFi but an ethernet adaptor is available much like the Fire TV.

Software

There's not really a lot to say about software on the device itself. The Chromecast just displays a single screen that cycles through pleasant pictures awaiting content from a phone.

Setup of the device is done via the Google Home app on an iOS or Android device. From there you can set the name of the Chromecast, WiFi settings, or opt to require a PIN to connect.

Content

Casting content is very easy. Look for the screen with the WiFi lines coming out of the corner and tap the Chromecast you want to connect to. It should instantly start playing on your screen.

However this highlights my main problem with the Chromecast. Everything has to be controlled via the app you've cast from and every app chooses to show the controls in a different way. It's my understanding that on Android a control for the Chromecast appears in the notification shade but if you're on iOS there's no such luck.

As it's a Chromecast you get the same Google Home integration you get with Android TV. "Ok Google, play Orange is the New Black on Chromecast" will have the show pop up on the big screen.

Value for Money

If all you want is a super simple way to get your stuff on the TV then the £30 Chromecast is a good option. It's the cheapest device I've tested and if you're fine using your phone as a remote then it's probably for you.

Having said that, if 4K and HDR are requirements for you then I have a hard time recommending the Chromecast Ultra considering the Mi Box is the same £69 and also offers the same cast functionality.

Table of Content

To get a good overview of what's available on these devices I've put together the following table. If you find anything else you want to add to this list, please let me know.

Apple TV

Fire TV

Android TV

Chromecast

All4

AirPlay

✅

✅*

✅

Apple Music

✅

-

-

-

Google Play Movies

-

-

✅

✅

iPlayer

✅

✅

✅*

✅

iTunes

✅

-

-

-

ITV

✅

✅

✅

✅

Kodi

-

Side-loaded

✅

-

My5

✅

✅

✅*

✅

Netflix

✅

✅

✅

✅

Now TV

✅

-

-

✅

Plex

✅

✅

✅

-

Prime Video

✅

✅

✅*

✅

Sky News

✅

✅

✅

✅

Spotify

AirPlay

✅

✅

✅

YouTube

✅

-

✅

✅

*Pre-loaded on some devices but may require side-loading or casting to others.

Wrapping Up

Which device works for you depends entirely on what you need. If you have a large iTunes library then you're likely locked into using the Apple TV. If you want the best Amazon Prime Video experience then the Fire TV is the best option for you. Chromecast works if you want something cheap that works reliably.

You might decide that none of these boxes or sticks are for you and that's fine. Other options like the Roku, Now TV box, or something like a Raspberry Pi running Kodi or Plex might be more suitable. I think for many people even the apps that come on most smart TVs will suffice these days. Let me know if you think I've missed anything that wipes the floor with the options I've tried in the comments.

It still seems like there's no perfect box with everything for everyone but I think I've decided that Android TV and the Mi Box work best for me. It provides the lion's share of content I want, a great interface with awesome universal voice search, and the best YouTube experience you can get on a TV.

]]>

I'm being extremely stubborn and refusing to update to High Sierra at the moment for good reason. The only thing that's really been annoying me is the fact I can't see emoji sent from iOS 11 or macOS 10.13 on Sierra but there's an easy fix.

I'm being extremely stubborn and refusing to update to High Sierra at the moment for good reason. The only thing that's really been annoying me is the fact I can't see emoji sent from iOS 11 or macOS 10.13 on Sierra but there's an easy fix.

Emoji is just a font that renders the unicode characters. On a Mac this is called Apple Color Emoji.ttc and is located in /System/Library/Fonts. Because of this it's very easily overriden by placing a newer version in /Library/Fonts.

Note the directory to place the new font in is /Library/Fonts not /System/Library/Fonts. Do not edit the System directory.

I got my friend Tim who had already upgraded to High Sierra on an external drive for testing to send over the new Emoji font and placed it in /Library/Fonts. Automatically, macOS started rendering the new Emoji.

Contents

Introduction

I may be one of the only people left still rocking an iPad 2. The only purpose it has in my life is to consume video through YouTube, Netflix, and Put.io and for that it mostly works fine but at times it is painfully slow on the latest version of iOS it will run — 9.3.5.

It wasn't always slow though. I remember when I first got it and was amazed at how fast it was. Around iOS 7 when transparency, blurring, and all that crud was added was when slow down started to become apparent. With the help of a jailbreak and a command line tool it is however possible to restore an iPad 2 or iPhone 4 to its former glory.

Jailbreak with Phoenix

If you're already jailbroken then you're safe to skip this step. Otherwise this will assume you're on iOS 9.3.5 and a 32-bit device – that is an iPhone 5, iPad 4 or older (you will however only be able to downgrade iPad 2 and iPhone 4 using the process outlined in this article). You'll also need access to a computer for this step.

Mac or PC is fine but keep in mind that to downgrade to iOS 6 you will need a Mac or Linux machine (Windows users may be able to use the Ubuntu shell available on the store or a virtual machine but I've not confirmed that).

3. Open Impactor, drag the Phoenix3.ipa file into the top field and connect your device.

4. You'll need to enter your Apple credentials that Impactor will use to re-sign the Phoenix3.ipa file so it can be installed on your device.

If you've enabled 2-step authentication on your Apple ID you will need to create an application password at appleid.apple.com to continue.

5. Once Phoenix shows up on your device's home screen you'll need to head to Settings and go to "General > Device Management" to trust the certificate.

6. Run Phoenix and tap "Prepare For Jailbreak". It should re-spring and install Cydia. You're now jailbroken and will just need to run Phoenix again every time you reboot your device.

Phoenix failed a few times for me before jailbreaking successfully. If this happens for you just try again and it should eventually succeed.

Installing OpenSSH

Before you're able to downgrade you'll just need to install one package from Cydia on your device: OpenSSH. This will allow us to install some files to the device from terminal and trigger DFU mode without iTunes.

Once installed you're good to proceed to the next step.

Downgrade to iOS 6

Now your device is jailbroken and OpenSSH is installed it's possible to downgrade to iOS 6. This is only able to be done because Apple are still signing the 6.1.3 OTA update so if they ever decide to stop doing that this process will stop working.

The package used to complete the downgrade is called odysseusOTA and is a collection of command line tools that can be executed from terminal on a Mac or Linux computer.

The new iPhone X features a beautiful edge-to-edge display. Well, almost. There is the small issue of a notch at the top of the browser which doesn't cause an issue when viewing websites in portrait but by default does cause some issues in landscape.

The new iPhone X features a beautiful edge-to-edge display. Well, almost. There is the small issue of a notch at the top of the browser which doesn't cause an issue when viewing websites in portrait but by default does cause some issues in landscape.

To accommodate the notch iOS 11 constrains websites within a "safe area" on the screen. On most websites this results in letterboxing on the left and the right.

Thankfully there are two simple fixes that can be made to solve this letterboxing.

background-color

If your website uses a single solid colour for its background then the best and easiest solution for you is to set a background-color property on your body tag. That results in the following on the above website.

As you can see the margins are left intact but are now filled with the correct colour.

viewport-fit

If you prefer to have extra control over your design or you're using a gradient or image as the background then setting a background-color might not be viable. In the latest version of iOS Apple have added the viewport-fit descriptor from the CSS Round Display Spec.

Simply adding viewport-fit=cover to your viewport meta tag will expand your site to fill the entire screen and not just the safe area.

It's a link to a question posted on Product Hunt over three months ago asking for a decent Mac podcast app because iTunes is dreadful. The recommendations are what really angered me:

Downcast - The is the only remotely sensible suggestion as it's a native Mac app that comes with an iOS counterpart. However the app isn't an improvement over iTunes to me as the UI could do with some work. The iPhone app also lacks features like Smart Speed that can be seen in Overcast and Pocket Casts.

Overcast - No, Marco hasn't made a Mac version of Overcast but someone recommended using the web UI which doesn't in any way fill the place of a native app.

Castro - Yep, no Mac app here either but even worse, there's no web UI and the user recommended using AirPods with your iPhone. My face hit my palm at that point.

I don't know why I even clicked the link because I knew after repeatedly searching for months there wasn't.

Pocket Casts

It's no secret that my favourite podcast app on my iPhone is Pocket Casts. I love the UI, the smart playlists, and up next feature. Not to mention the fact that it cuts out gaps in audio like Overcast and has a web UI.

While the web UI is okay it doesn't feel native and still leaves a number of issues. Most notably there is no media key or chapter support. On top of that, because I have it pinned as a tab in Safari I constantly find myself closing the window.

Building Desktop Casts

I opened up the web inspector for the Pocket Casts site and started recording the XHR requests. Reverse engineering their private API was simple as it's logically designed and uses a user token stored in a cookie for authentication.

That Friday I spent the day bashing something together that would interface with the Pocket Casts private API.

I was excited with what I had and quickly registered desktopcasts.com, thinking that I could release this as an unofficial Pocket Casts Mac app.

Thankfully I had nothing planned that weekend and spent the entirety of it working on Desktop Casts. That's not hyperbole at all. The project had its grip on me and I couldn't stop thinking about it or working on it. I stayed awake until 3am Sunday working on it, got up at midday and worked some more.

I can’t decide if I like that bottom bar in dark. It is on the iPhone app and I do like the separation. pic.twitter.com/KfPYZReItg

Game Over

I was excited. Finally it felt like I would finally have the Pocket Casts Mac app I so desperately wanted. In my excitement I'd assumed that this would all be fine but I wanted to make sure so I looped the @PocketCasts account in on the thread.

Hopefully @pocketcasts don’t mind me using their private API for this 👀

I was disappointed but I understood. It's their API, I broke their user terms by reverse engineering it and I totally understand not being able to support something as a small team from experience.

That said, I reached out to them via email to apologise for causing any alarm and they explained some more of their reasoning.

What Now?

Well I still get to use the best podcast app on the Mac. It syncs perfectly with Pocket Casts on my iPhone, I can skip to chapters and it's simply fantastic — and, you don't. You get to keep using a web UI that's a mediocre experience or put up with podcasts in iTunes if you can wade through that piece of crap.

I did consider releasing it as a standalone app that would subscribe to feeds on its own but that idea proved to not be popular and the additional time it would take to do that isn't worthwhile. If Pocket Casts (or Overcasts) ever release a public API that will sync with their service or mobile apps I will be ready and waiting.

Until then, the perfect podcast app for Mac is all but a dream.

]]>

I've written a fair few posts about HomeKit and Homebridge but there was one piece of that whole puzzle that I was never really happy with—Siri. While Siri does a job to some extent I think it's hard to say that it does it well. Constantly mishearing or misunderstanding

I've written a fair few posts about HomeKit and Homebridge but there was one piece of that whole puzzle that I was never really happy with—Siri. While Siri does a job to some extent I think it's hard to say that it does it well. Constantly mishearing or misunderstanding what I'm saying, having to have a phone or iPad nearby to activate, and long waits while it converts speech-to-text were infuriating.

My Dad had recently bought into the Alexa eco-system with an Echo Dot and was controlling his Philips Hue setup with ease. He couldn't stop praising the thing—lauding its accuracy, the fact that it can hear you from a distance, and Spotify integration—and so when they had refurbished Dots on offer for £40 I bought one.

Alexa vs. Siri

I'll be honest, I never really "got" the Echo. I didn't understand what value it really added to the home but I'm now a total convert. There are three major bonuses Alexa has over Siri.

It's always there.

It's more responsive and more accurate.

It does more thanks to thousands of third party skills.

It's surprising how quickly saying "Alexa, play Prince" or "Alexa, what's the weather like tomorrow?" has become natural. I think music and home automation are the killer applications for the Echo and while Siri has the home automation side of things covered substantially with HomeKit, Apple restrict voice control of music to Apple Music which totally sucks.

It's surprising how quickly saying "Alexa, play Prince" has become natural.

Home Automation with Alexa

Depending on your setup it's possible that Alexa will work with your lights and other smart devices right out of the box. Amazon's site lists over 400 Smart Home skills and that list is constantly growing. The big names such as Philips Hue and LIFX are here, but surprisingly there's even a Magic Home skill for those cheap lightbulbs and LED strips I wrote about previously.

Homebridge + Alexa

While the majority of skills will fulfil most needs there was one missing for me. In my last article I wrote about controlling my TV and other IR devices with the Broadlink RM and that was something I also wanted to do with Alexa.

I'd already got it working with HomeKit thanks to my Homebridge instance running on a Raspberry Pi Zero so thought perhaps I could utilise that to reveal the HomeKit devices to Alexa. It turns out I was right.

Installation and Configuration

Now this may not be for everyone as installation isn't quite as simple as installing a Homebridge plugin (at least at the moment). There is an open issue regarding Alexa Skill support and I'd expect that to come in the future. For now though it involves replacing your current install with one that will expose your devices.

If your install is working perfectly you may be understandably cautious about replacing it with a forked version of Homebridge. However the installation process is pretty simple and you should be back up-and-running within 10 minutes or so. I did encounter some issues with permissions but assuming your version of node is correctly installed you should be fine.

First of all, delete the existing version of Homebridge and HAP-NodeJS.

sudo npm uninstall -g homebridge
sudo npm uninstall -g hap-nodejs

Once removed the Alexa build can be installed.

sudo npm install -g https://github.com/NorthernMan54/homebridge

Finally, a new property needs to be added to the bridge section of the config.json. Add ssdp and ensure the value is set to 1900 to complete the installation.

Run Homebridge as you did before with the homebridge command and it will now expose your devices to an Echo on the same network.

"Alexa, turn on the lights"

Now that devices are discoverable, Alexa can be asked to find them. This can either be done via the app under the Smart Home > Devices section or by saying "Alexa, discover devices". If working, the lady in a tube will report back the number of smart devices found and reveal them in the app as "Lux Light".

Not everything that can be done with HomeKit is currently supported by the following commands can now be spoken.

Alexa, turn on the _______

Alexa, turn off the _______

Alexa, set ______ to number percent

I also took the time to great a group for "Lights". I currently only have smart lights in my living room but you may want to separate these groups by rooms similar to Apple's Home app.

If you've read any of mypreviousposts then you probably already realise I'm on a mission to automate my entire house and control it using Apple's HomeKit protocol. I'm pretty satisfied with the lights in my house now but there's plenty more I would still love to be able

If you've read any of mypreviousposts then you probably already realise I'm on a mission to automate my entire house and control it using Apple's HomeKit protocol. I'm pretty satisfied with the lights in my house now but there's plenty more I would still love to be able to control from my phone.

In Search of an IR Blaster

Rather than replacing everything in my home it made sense to try and find something to control my existing stuff. The majority of things like my TV, amp, fireplace, and fan are all controlled by IR so I started looking for an IR blaster that would work with Apple's HomeKit.

The only HomeKit compatible device I could find was BOND but that cost $99 and it's only available for pre-order so that was most definitely out of the equation. My next thought was perhaps rolling my own using an Arduino, IR LED and some other bits and bobs. It seemed entirely possible but would take a decent amount of time to assemble and program while also costing around £30.

Like with most things though there is a cheap Chinese alternative — the Broadlink RM. It comes in two flavours: IR only and a IR + RF "Pro" model. I got the RM Mini 3 to test out as I didn't think I had any use for RF (I later discovered I have some RF sockets I could have used it with).

The device itself is nice enough. It's neat, compact, and the design kinda reminds me of the Mac Pro.

It's app however leaves much to be desired (at least on iOS). It feels like it hasn't been updated since iOS 7 was released but it does its job and I was able to setup the RM Mini 3 to turn on my TV and Amp within a few minutes of taking it out of the box.

HomeKit

Now that's all well and good but the goal was to get the thing working with HomeKit so I can use Siri and access it from Control Centre on my iPhone and iPad. HomeBridge of course was the solution to this. I already had my HomeBridge instance running on a Pi Zero for my lights and LED strips so it was just a case of installing and configuring an additional plugin.

This fantastic plugin does absolutely everything you could want. It supports sending multiple codes via a single switch, repeat sending codes (for volume up etc.), built in support for HomeKit types such as fans, lights, and garage doors. On top of that it automatically finds the Broadlink RM device connected to your network and adds buttons to learn IR and RF codes.

Tap one of those learn/scan buttons in the Home app on your iPhone and it will turn the RM into learning mode. Point your remote at the RM and press the button you want to know the code of and it will be printed out in your HomeBridge terminal for you to use.

Configuration is very simple and is simply a case of adding a platform and then the accessories you want to create. At the moment I have 3 buttons: TV, Amp, and Media so I can turn everything on or control devices individually. I'll likely expand upon this to be able to change the input on my TV and increase or decrease the volume. The config-sample.json provides examples on all of the types of accessories that can be included in the platform.

Now I fully accept that controlling my TV from my phone may seem redundant considering the remote is sat just a few feet away from me on the coffee table. However the idea of being able to turn the TV on when I'm away to make it seem like someone is home, or to turn a fan or air conditioning on when a certain temperature is detected by a HomeKit sensor, or to control existing IR or RF sockets is very appealing to me.

Looking for more?
I've written a few posts on HomeKit that you might want to check out.

It must have been around 8 years ago that my Dad and I had the idea of building an arcade cabinet. This was before the Raspberry Pi even existed and there was nothing like Arcade World here.

After a bit of research we imported everything we needed for the control board from the US and knocked together a MAME box on an old Windows XP computer. And that's where the project stopped until I decided to have another go in December 2016.

The Cabinet

After I'd decided that I definitely wanted to have another go at this I started shopping. The first thing I needed to order was a cabinet for everything to go in. When we first had the idea of building an arcade machine we were going to cut our own based on some plans out of MDF, paint it black and maybe add some vinyls to jazz it up. In 2017 there is a much easier route to take — flatpack.

I did a bit of searching and came across a small company based in Swindon called XCADE. They offered a variety of cabinets in various form factors. Initially I had planned to continue down the upright route but a bar top cabinet ultimately proved to not only fit better in my house but also cost significantly less.

I ordered a B17C 1-player cabinet on 31st December 2016 for £122 (including shipping) from XCADE.

It might seem a little strange that I'm including the date here but it does have some significance. As much as I love the cabinet — and am for the most part impressed with the quality — my experience has been far from great.

After a total of 18 emails back-and-forth my arcade cabinet finally arrived on 28th March 2017 — almost 3 whole months since I ordered it. The website did mention a 3-4 week turnaround on orders so I anticipated it by the end of January. During that 3 month period I received numerous excuses ranging from lack of materials, a broken CNC machine, a busy workshop, and the courier losing it at the depot.

Now as I said previously, when the cabinet did finally arrive I was impressed with the quality as a whole. The black MDF used is great and required no painting. Perspex was provided for bezels, button surround, and marquee and all the screws you could possibly want were in the box. Having said that there were some minor issues. No assembly instructions or part list was included so it was all guess work, the perspex provided for the marquee was the wrong size, there was a minor crack around the button surround, and they completely forgot to drill holes for the screen bezel into the wood.

I dropped XCADE another email and was told to drill the holes into the bezel myself and that they would send out a new marquee insert for me. They never sent instructions and I hadn't noticed the crack in the button surround by then. Almost 2 weeks later and I'm yet to receive that new insert.

It seems to me like these issues probably stem from a workshop that was far over capacity. Mistakes happen and I can accept that if they're solved appropriately. My guess is that orders for Arcade World were prioritised over direct orders from their website as that's likely their biggest customer.

None of this means I wouldn't recommend their cabinets, but due to the long turnaround and less-than-average customer service I received I would recommend purchasing them from Arcade World instead. I've had no issues with Arcade World for other parts I and my boyfriend have ordered on separate occasions.

Assembly

Even without instructions the assembly was extremely easy. Allen keys were provided and the parts slot into place without issue. For the fixings around the bezel, button surround, and for the speakers & screen inside the cabinet: metal threads were provided — a very nice addition.

The joystick I had from 8 years previous was no good as the plate was the wrong shape but as you can see from the photo above the buttons fitted perfectly and work great. They're lovely concave buttons that sit atop some clicky Cherry switches. If you're familiar with their keyboard switches they sort of sound like blues.

I think the t-moulding really added some personality to what would otherwise be a fairly boring shell and the new joystick is a massive improvement over the old euro-style stick I had before.

Electronics

With the cabinet pretty much assembled I moved my focus to the electronics. The first thing I purchased was a used monitor from eBay but it took me a while to find one that would match the following criteria:

Be 17" and 5:4 aspect ratio

Have standard VESA screw holes

Be DVI and not VGA

Auto turn on when the wall power is turned on

The first two were easy to find but the second two were a little trickier. I wanted DVI as that meant I could have a single HDMI -> DVI cable with no adaptor and I needed it to auto power as there would be no way to access the buttons on the monitor when it was mounted in the cabinet.

I ended up purchasing a Dell E1708FP and it worked perfectly. I cannot recommend this monitor enough if you're planning on building a 17" cabinet. It's a crisp display and fits all of the criteria.

As you may have noticed from above I chose to power the cabinet with a Raspberry Pi running Retropie. I'm planning on writing a second part to this article on installing and configuring the software but for now I'll say it's definitely a better option than a traditional PC, in my opinion.

Next I designed some artwork for both the bezel and the control deck as it needed to be sandwiched between the panel and the perspex before buttons and joystick were inserted. I measured out everything with a metal rule and created a template in Illustrator for my artwork.

I was fortunate enough to have access to a large printer and it was then just a case of carefully cutting everything out.

If you're Japanese than I sincerely apologise for completely mistranslating "arcade" as アーケード when I clearly meant ゲームセンター

With the buttons in place it was time to wire everything up. Essentially the controls emulate a keyboard an hook into an encoder called an I-PAC. There are several flavours for 2 or 4 players, or with additional functions such as trackball, LED, or spinner support. Mine is an older unit that has a PS/2 connection, but with a PS/2 -> USB convertor it works perfectly (…remember, we started this 8 years ago).

The I-PAC's buttons can be changed through some Windows software but out of the box it uses sensible defaults that should work fine for most scenarios.

Wiring it up is simple (if not a little fiddly). Daisy-chain the ground for each button and then add the COMM from the switch to the relevant input on the I-PAC.

I got my boyfriend to test everything was working. Here he is testing Metal Slug. Notice the speakers at the side — I still needed one last thing before I could close it up.

That final thing I needed was an amp to drive the two little speakers mounted to the back of the cabinet. Thankfully Amazon deliver on Bank Holidays and I was able to pick this little thing up to do the job.

With the amp in place it was simply a case of ensuring everything was inside the cabinet and working properly before screwing it together and putting it in its new home. I couldn't be happier with the way it's worked out and it feels great to finally finish a project I've wanted to do for almost half of my life.

Shopping List

A few people have asked about the project so I thought I'd assemble a shopping list of what I purchased/recommend should you want to build your own cabinet. It's also the first time I've actually seen the cost of everything in one place.

Cabinet - Purchased via Arcade World. Unfortunately it looks like there are no 1P cabinets for sale currently but may be available on request from XCADE. Mine's a B17C - £90+

Buttons - There are a ridiculous number of buttons available on Arcade World so have a look at what's right for your project. They can be purchased individually or as part of a kit for around £20. If you afford it, spend the extra on Cherry switches as opposed to generic.

T-Moulding - Obviously this is totally optional and dependant on the cabinet that you're looking at. There's a massive selection of colours available. I spent £17 on 6m of chrome moulding for my cabinet. This was around 1m over what I needed in case of mistakes.

Raspberry Pi + SD Card - If you go down the RetroPie route then you'll need a Raspberry Pi and you should get the 3. Make sure you get an SD card too. You'll probably want 32GB or 64GB if you plan on putting a lot of ROMs on your machine. For example, just all the NeoGeo games are 5GB. - ~£40

Monitor - This depends on your cabinet but a used monitor from eBay will likely set you back around £25-£40.

Speakers + Amp - Dependant on your solution you may want to buy individual drivers and an amp or use powered PC speakers plugged into the headphone jack. I opted to buy separate drivers from Arcade World and used this amp to power them. It set me back about £15 for the speakers and amp.

LED Strip - If you want to light up your marquee (which you totally should) then you'll want and LED strip. I got a 1m, USB powered one from Amazon for £6 which was plenty adequate. You may want to paint the inside of the box gloss white or use tinfoil as a reflector.

Plugs + Adaptors - I spent around £25 on plugs and adaptors for the build. I didn't show it above but to power the cabinet I got Declan to drill a hole in the back and I fed through a black 4-socket extension for the monitor, Pi, and amp to plug into.

The total cost of my cabinet based on the above was around £320. I was fortunate that I was able to use the I-PAC and buttons we had previously and had some Amazon gift cards I could use to save a fair chunk of that. The cabinet was also partially paid for as a birthday present (🎂).

If you're in the US check out Ultimarc which was the site we originally imported our components from.

Part 2 of this article is coming soon and will look at the software side of things

Like millions in the UK I rely on repeat prescriptions to keep me healthy. The NHS is marvellous but the repeat prescription service has always felt a little archaic. Little slips of green paper popped in a box or handed to your pharmacist and then a 24-48 hour waiting period

Like millions in the UK I rely on repeat prescriptions to keep me healthy. The NHS is marvellous but the repeat prescription service has always felt a little archaic. Little slips of green paper popped in a box or handed to your pharmacist and then a 24-48 hour waiting period before you can actually get ahold of the medication you need.

The NHS Electronic Prescription Service launched in 2014 did seek to solve much of this. If both your GP and pharmacy supported it you could use their online service to order repeat prescriptions and collect them at your leisure. The problem is few people seem to know about the service and even if you do, you have to still have to physically go to the pharmacy. My village pharmacy is only open week days from 9am - 5pm and closes between 1pm and 2pm for lunch making it almost impossible for anyone who works full-time to collect their medication.

Echo seeks to solve many of these pain-points with their fantastic mobile app and is quite possibly the first time I've ever found something useful in a Facebook ad.

What is Echo?

Echo is our simple, free service that delivers your medicine to your door. We’ll even remind you when and how to take it.

At least that's what their website says. It's pretty spot on to be honest and it's by far the best experience I've had in ordering NHS prescription medication.

Until Echo there were really 2 ways you could order prescriptions:

Manually submit and collection your prescription in paper and then go to a pharmacy.

Use a pharmacy repeat prescription service that would order it on your behalf and require you to collect it in person.

I used the latter but as I said above I had issues collecting my meds. Echo has completely alleviated all of these problems for me.

Setup & Ordering

Signing up is super simple. Download the app, tell them who your are and who your GP is and they'll do the rest. My GP called me to confirm I wanted Echo to take over from my previous pharmacy and that was it.

If you're entitled to free prescriptions you can enter your exemption in the settings and take a photo of any proof. This may be a pre-paid card or medical exemption certificate and it was nice I was able to take make use of this with no issue.

From there it was simply a case of searching for the medication I needed and ordering it. Echo submit the order via the EPS and once my GP approves it I can select where I want it dispatched. Delivery via Royal Mail 48-hour is completely free or you can pay for next day if you're desperate. The ability to choose where I want it delivered was surprising to me. I'd assumed that due to the nature of the package it would need to go to a home address but thankfully that isn't the case and getting it delivered to my office was absolutely fine.

Delivery & Beyond

The "premium" experience continues once you've received your order too. The packaging is awesome (probably total overkill for pills but it's very welcome) and the personalised handwritten message is a very nice touch.

Their reminder service — while basic — is also a great addition and was initially what I was looking for when Echo popped up on Facebook for me. These seem to be setup manually at the moment as I received an in-app message asking what times I'd like to be reminded to take my medication. It would be nice to be able to tweak these myself as I currently receive the same reminder twice (I take 2 of the same tablet at different dosages) but I'm sure that's coming in an update.

Echo also keeps track of how many tablets I should have left at any given time and will remind me when I need to reorder. Reordering is as simple as pressing a button in the app to send the same request to my GP and await approval. If I need to order them sooner I'm free to do so but I may need to contact my GP to explain why.

Wrapping Up

Echo has quickly embedded itself in my life and is a service I can see myself using for the foreseeable future. I do have some concerns as to the scalability of the business. At the moment they're working out of one pharmacy in Shepherd's Bush but I'm sure that will need to change as more users clock on to the service. The personal touches may also be lost as Echo scale but if that means the business can survive then so be it.

To date Echo has raised £2.2m. I'd definitely be interested to see their monetisation plans though they could be identical to a traditional pharmacy with the NHS paying them for each prescription/patient served. Their exit strategy also intrigues me. Will this remain a private business or more likely get acquired by someone like Lloyds Pharmacy?

Open-source software is so prolific that it's likely nothing written today doesn't include some in one form or another. Keeping track of the licenses and acknowledgements that need to be included when working with multiple dependencies can be tricky. CocoaPods does a great job of managing the dependencies themselves but

Open-source software is so prolific that it's likely nothing written today doesn't include some in one form or another. Keeping track of the licenses and acknowledgements that need to be included when working with multiple dependencies can be tricky. CocoaPods does a great job of managing the dependencies themselves but as it turns out it can also help us including those acknowledgments in our app.

Settings Bundle

As you probably already know a Settings Bundle is the way we add settings to iOS's global Settings app. It's essentially just a plist or collection of plists and handily CocoaPods generates a plist containing acknowledgements for all used pods that we can automatically include here.

If you haven't already, create a Settings Bundle for your project from the new file panel.

Once created you'll see a Settings.bundle appear in the navigator panel on the left of Xcode. Inside are two files, a Root.plist and the accompanying strings file that will be used for any translations required.

While we're here we'll make the changes required to the Root.plist file. We're going to add an option that will take users to a second screen that will display the information provided to us by CocoaPods.

Create a new item in the Preference Items array, set its Type to Child Pane, the Title to Open Source (or whatever you wish it to be), and the Filename to OpenSource. This is going to be the name of the child plist file we're gonna copy over from CocoaPods in a moment.

New Run Script Phase

Within your project's Build Pases create a new Run Script Phase and name it something like "Copy Acknowledgements". In the phase, paste in the following replacing the placeholders.

<PODTARGET> is the name of the target you've installed CocoaPods to. For example, it may be Pods-Fetch or Pods-Facebook.

<PATHTOBUNDLE> is the location of the Settings.bundle file within your project.

The next time you build/install your app the acknowledgements from CocoaPods will be automatically included in your app's settings.

CocoaPods have more information about the generated files on their wiki and also include information on using a post-install hook instead of the above run-script phase.

]]>

Distribution for indie developers on the Mac has been a sore point for a number of years now. The Mac App Store is just completely broken and discovery of apps outside of a centralised store is difficult and it takes a lot of effort to shine in the rough.

Distribution for indie developers on the Mac has been a sore point for a number of years now. The Mac App Store is just completely broken and discovery of apps outside of a centralised store is difficult and it takes a lot of effort to shine in the rough.

Setapp aims to change the game by offering dozens of Mac apps, instantly available for a single monthly subscription of $9.99. It's the brainchild of MacPaw, the software house responsible for fantastic apps like CleanMyMac and Gemini. MacPaw also operate DevMate — a development and distribution platform so Setapp seems like a natural progression for the team.

Downloading and installing Setapp is easy and once logged in it can be accessed from a couple of places. Setapps itself sits in your menubar and it's from here you can search through the apps available to you, view your account, or check for updates.

You can also open the Setapp folder from the menubar or access it from the Finder sidebar or via the toolbar button it automatically adds (I removed that and I'd imagine it's redundant for most people too).

The folder acts just like any other in macOS and apps are launched just the same. The first time you double-click on one of the icons here you'll be presented with a description and some screenshots of the app. Not all apps will be useful to everyone but there are some real gems like Sip, Base, and Ulysses here that are definitely worth checking out.

Once you hit that "Open" button Setapp will download and launch the app for you in a matter of minutes. All apps available within Setapp — downloaded or not — are even available via Spotlight which happens to be how I launch everything on my Mac.

The title of this article might seem like hyperbole but I genuinely believe Setapp is a massively welcome addition and something the Mac has been in dire need of for a while. The Mac App Store sees little love with many developers pulling apps from the store or not even bothering to distribute there in the first place.

Developers can apply to distribute their app via Setapp and will be given a cut of the recurring revenue. Something that could prove to be quite lucrative. Not all apps will be approved however, and it seems that Setapp are aiming for high quality apps which can only be a good thing for subscribing customers.

Currently in beta Setapp will see a full release in the new year.

Want to give Setapp a try?
The lovely people at MacPaw gave me this special link that is good for the first 10 users. After that you'll be popped onto the waiting list 😊

]]>

So by now I'm pretty sure anyone who hasn't been living under a rock the last few weeks is aware Apple released a ridiculously priced portfolio book of their products since 1998 and Jobs' return to Apple. The book is pitched as telling a story of Apple design over the

So by now I'm pretty sure anyone who hasn't been living under a rock the last few weeks is aware Apple released a ridiculously priced portfolio book of their products since 1998 and Jobs' return to Apple. The book is pitched as telling a story of Apple design over the last 20 years and is priced at $299 or $399 depending on the size of the book (what happened to one size fits all 'eh?).

As much as I love Apple products it's not unlikely you'll spit your coffee out when you hear how much they're trying to charge for some dead trees. Sure a lot of work went into the book and the photography looks utterly stunning but at that price it seems more of a status symbol; comparable to the original Apple Watch Edition. Something only the elite or Apple superfans would justify as a purchase.

One thing I thought was slightly disappointing considering Apple's unprecedented access to the designers, engineers and prototypes of the products document was the complete lack of any interviews or photos of unreleased products. For something that was meant to be a "design story" it was a little strange not to see any of the iterations of iPhones or Macs that came prior to the final design

If you do want to see all of the images in the book before deciding whether you'd like to drop $300 then check out this video by DetroitBorg.

Enter, Iconic

While there was no way in hell I was gonna buy Apple's book it did lead to me learning about Iconic. A few people mentioned it to me on Twitter and Siracusa even mentioned it on ATP. The book is written/photographed by Jonathan Zufi who has spent years collecting and photographing Apple products — initially for Shrine of Apple and later for this book.

Iconic really is a labour a love, featuring over 650 high-quality photos of hundreds of Apple products spanning across desktops, portables, peripherals, packaging and prototypes. Unlike the Apple portfolio book the book also features quotes and insights from people like Steve Wozniak, Ken Segall, and M.G. Siegler. Iconic also focuses on the entire history of Apple and not just the last 20 years; looking at products ranging from the Apple II to the the LISA, Mac, iPod, iPhone and beyond.

Iconic comes in several flavours: Classic, Classic Plus, Ultimate, and Special. I have the Classic Plus edition which comes with a rather nice outer sleeve.

Inside the sleeve is the standard Classic edition, complete with dust cover. It's really well made and it's evident a lot of work went into selecting the right paper stock for the book.

I took a good 20-30 minutes just flicking through the book and seeing how Apple design progressed through the years. I found myself getting nostalgic about things like the iPod Shuffle — the first Apple product I ever owned. About the G4 iMac and how wonderful that design was. I can remember going into PC World with my dad when I was 9 or 10 and being mesmerised by how fluid that hinge was and how they managed to fit an entire computer in there! My only interaction with computers at that point had been through an Olivetti PC tower rocking Windows 98 (which was awesome by the way) and seeing that white design with this strange, aqua UI started my obsession with the company.

And it truly was obsession for a long time too. I can remember sitting up in my bedroom watching these Apple keynotes, lusting over products that would be out of my reach for many years. That didn't matter though, it felt exciting and seeing these clean, white or metal designs announced with such fanfare was enthralling. While that has changed somewhat now I'm in my 20s I do still have a strong connection with Apple products and use them more than anything else daily.

Getting my first Mac (a G4 Mac Mini running Tiger) was an absolute personal milestone. I paid my dad back with my paper round money for that for about a year but damn was it worth it. Talking of that paper round, I don't think I could have bared that without my iPod Shuffle or 3rd gen iPod.

It's a strange feeling that I didn't think I'd get looking at photos of technology but considering this book exists I'd imagine it's a feeling many get. All of the products I mentioned are featured in Iconic along with most of Apple's "famous" products over the years. I think my favourite section of the book is the Prototypes though. It's something you rarely get to see unless something escapes the Apple campus and somehow Jonathan managed to track down a good number of them.

Things like the original Mac prototype or a weird Mac Mini prototype with an iPod Nano dock built right in are here.

It was also great to see some of the earlier designs that I had no idea existed. I absolutely adore this Fisher Price inspired laptop.

And the number of drives Apple made for the Apple II is unbelievable. I guess that really was their bread and butter for a long time.

Oh and seeing that puck mouse again brings back nightmares. That Mighty Mouse wasn't short of issues either with the nipple getting clogged up and the squeezy buttons being way too sensitive.

Overview

As you can probably tell by now I'm a fan of this book. While the photos in it may not be as clean or as perfectly isolated as Apple's I feel that adds to the charm. Add to that the foreword by Woz, the access to the prototypes, and the fact that it focuses on the entire company's history and not just the last 20 years and it really does feel like a much more rounded book.

Iconic is clearly a passion project for Jonathan Zufi. It's hard to comprehend how many computers, iPods, iPhones, and peripherals he must have in his collection but it's great the he's been able to share it first through Shrine of Apple and now through Iconic.

Bottom line, Iconic is a great book and for £40 on Amazon it's a great gift for any Apple fan this Christmas and sure to be on many coffee tables.

The Classic Plus, Ultimate, and Special editions are available exclusively on Iconic's Website

Full disclosure, Jonathan was kind enough to send me a copy of his book but didn't ask for anything, including a review in return. I just wanted to share my thoughts on Iconic.

]]>

Since hooking up Homebridge and controlling lights and LED strips in my living room I've been looking for a physical switch to control it. The only HomeKit enabled switch I've found is the Elgato Eve Light Switch which is pretty reasonable at $50 but is only available in the US

Since hooking up Homebridge and controlling lights and LED strips in my living room I've been looking for a physical switch to control it. The only HomeKit enabled switch I've found is the Elgato Eve Light Switch which is pretty reasonable at $50 but is only available in the US due to the requirement of a neutral wire — something UK (and most other international) switches do not have/require.

I wondered if I could get another Wi-Fi button working with Homebridge but couldn't really find anything. There's the FLIC but that needs Bluetooth so was out of the question unless I wanted to hack the protocol it uses and connect it to the Raspberry Pi; a lot of effort for a little switch. There is however the perfect Wi-Fi button that's cheap, self contained and easy to configure — the Amazon Dash.

The Dash Button is designed to order consumable items such as coffee and washing tablets at the click of a button. It's $5/£5 usually and gives you that price off the cost of your first order (it does however require a Prime subscription to buy). I managed to get mine while they were on sale in the UK for 99p so picked a few up.

The first thing I did was get that logo off of the Simplehuman button with my trusty Swiss Army knife.

The older Amazon Dash buttons had screws underneath the label but this newer model just seems to clip the back plate to the front so is nice and clean under that label. Eventually I think I'll print a label to go on this with some sticky back plastic (full Art Attack mode).

The dash is apparently just powered by a AAA battery inside which is likely replaceable. However, considering it's only £5 and lasts for 10,000 clicks it doesn't really matter either way.

Setting up the buttons is easy, you just open up the Amazon app on your iPhone and go to the relevant section in the Your Account tab. Hold down the button for 6 seconds until it flashes blue and then pop in your Wi-Fi password. It's very simple.

Integrating with Homebridge

There was already a plugin available for the Amazon Dash Button so I gave that one a whirl first. It uses libpcap and the node-dash-button to listen to traffic on the local network. Older dash buttons connected with ARP but these new buttons use UDP.

I had a number of issues with the plugin:

Getting it to work on my Pi Zero setup was a nightmare as it froze the wlan shortly after running libpcap. It turns out this was actually the fault of the official Raspberry Pi Wi-Fi dongle. This cheap dongle works perfectly with it.

The plugin uses the StatelessProgrammableSwitch service in HAP-NodeJS which the Home app on iOS doesn't support at all. I think it's programmable in 3rd party apps but that's again something I didn't want to deal with.

To fix the second point I ended up writing my own plugin that you can download on GitHub. The button uses the standard switch service in HomeKit and just stores the state in memory. It's not an ideal scenario as the state can easily but you could always fork it and get the plugin to check the state of the accessories or lights you wish to control with it.

The plugin accepts just a couple of properties in its config: name, mac, and protocol. The name is what will be displayed by default in the Home app, mac is the MAC address of the Amazon Dash and the protocol is udp, arp or all. If you're not sure which button you have use all but if you bought it recently (last 6 months) it's likely to use UDP rather than ARP.

You'll probably be able to find your Dash but monitoring your router's logs when you hit the button and then checking the MAC address on a lookup site. However if you're not comfortable in doing that you can follow the instructions the node-dash-button have in their readme.

Automating with the iOS Home App

Once I'd installed the plugin and swapped out the Wi-Fi dongle for one that doesn't freeze the button popped up in the Home app as expected. It displays as a switch and can be automated to trigger any accessory when the state goes from off -> on and vice-versa.

Demo

And of course, here's a quick demo of me clicking a button… Exciting eh? 😝

And here it is, nicely seated underneath my light switch. The sticky back wasn't quite sticky enough for my wall so I used some Command Strips to keep it in place.